Anthrax Bassist to Play Richard Hell, And Other News From the Jeff Buckley Biopic(s) Front

So, there's two Jeff Buckley films in the works: Greetings From Tim Buckley, a film focusing on the events surrounding Buckley's performance at a 1991 tribute concert for his father, the late singer/songwriter Tim Buckley, which stars "Gossip Girl" star Dan Humphrey Penn Badgley. Then there's the as-yet-untitled biopic starring Reeve Carney, who plays Spider-Man in the so-bad-it's-bad Broadway show "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark". Both projects have updates; whether they're indicative of the quality of these movies is your call.On the Greetings From Tim Buckley front, Variety reports (via the Playlist) that Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has been tapped to play punk godfather Richard Hell in the film. (British singer/songwriter Kate Nash has joined the cast, too.) In real life, Hell performed three Tim Buckley songs at the 1991 tribute concert: Buckley's "Moulin Rouge" and "Jungle Fire", and Johnny Thunders' "Chinese Rocks". If Bello ends up performing in the film, it'll be...interesting to see how he handles those tunes. (Listen to the original "Moulin Rouge" below.)

Variety also reports that actor Frank Wood has signed on to play Buckley/Captain Beefheart collaborator Gary Lucas. The real life Lucas has given the project his blessing, and is currently "playing and rehearsing with Badgley as a consultant," according to Variety. A re-creation of the 1991 concert is being organized at the original venue, St. Ann's church in Brooklyn.

As for the other Buckley film, the untitled biopic, Billboard reports (via the Playlist) that Reeve Carney will be re-recording Jeff Buckley songs especially for the film. So, yeah. In Billboard's interview with Carney, the actor also mentioned that his friendship with Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert (who's serving as an executive producer on the film), began two years before he was offered the role, when she saw his band, Carney, perform. Maybe that's a good sign?